Pulled Pork Turn-overs

Here we go with another left-over recipe! If you've ever made pulled pork before, you know that even the smallest roast will make three or four family sized meals. What do to with all of those left-overs? Here's one idea: Loaded Sweet Potato Fries. This particular night, I happened to have some puff pastry in the freezer, hence pulled pork turn-overs were born!

Here's a quick rundown on how to make pulled pork: put a pork shoulder in the slow cooker, top it with an entire bottle of your favorite sauce (barbecue sauce, steak or pork marinade, etc.), cook it on low for 8 hours, remove the bones and shred the meat. It's that easy!

If you've been a reader of my blog for a while, you'll know that I love recipes that you can customize. Everyone's family's preferences are different and it's nice to be able to make a recipe your own that everyone can agree with. That's why I have left the instructions intentionally open as far as the type of sauce or cheese that you can use.

Pulled Pork Turn-overs
Makes: 4 turn-overs

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 1/2 cups pulled pork
1/2 cup sauce (barbecue, sweet chili, buffalo, etc.)
1 cup shredded cheese (monterey jack, cheddar, pepper jack, etc.)

• On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry so that it's about 1/8" thick.
• With a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut the puff pastry evenly into 4 squares.
• Pile 1/4 of the pork onto one half of the puff pastry, top with 2 tbsp of sauce, then top with 1/4 cup of cheese.
• Brush two adjacent edges of the puff pastry with water.
• Fold over the puff pastry in half corner to corner so that it forms a triangle. Be careful to make sure that all of the ingredients stay inside and you have a tight seal. You don't want anything leaking out.
• Repeat with the remaining puff pastry and fillings.
• Transfer the turn-overs to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. With a sharp knife, pierce two lines into the puff pastry so that the steam can escape.

• Bake at 400° F for 15 minutes.
• Allow to cool at least 5 minutes. The filling will be hot!

Loaded Sweet Potato Fries

I absolutely love sweet potato fries. I don't think there's anything better than a plate of sweet potato fries drizzled with some melted honey butter. Mmmmmm... Now, I know that sweet potatoes are really good for you and they have a lot of great vitamins and minerals. But, as the name suggests, this recipe is not meant to be health food haha! Don't say I didn't warn you! I had some left-over pulled pork so I loaded up my sweet potato fries with some of the left-overs. It was a match made in heaven!

Loaded Sweet Potato Fries
Makes: 4 servings

4 servings of sweet potato fries (that's 336g for those of you who use a food scale)
2 tsp honey
1 cup pulled pork
1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

• Cook the sweet potato fries by either baking them or deep frying them. I prefer deep frying; it makes them come out lighter and fluffier.
• Once the fries are cooked, pile them up on an oven safe plate. Then drizzle them with the honey.
• If you're using fresh pulled pork, sprinkle it over the fries. If you're using left-overs, reheat it first, then sprinkle it on the fries.
• Top the pulled pork with the shredded cheese. Place the fries under a broiler on high for about 2 minutes until the cheese is melted.
• Dive in!

Pulled Pork

If you've never made pulled pork before, it's truly the easiest thing you can possibly make. Just get a medium sized pork shoulder (sometimes it's called a Boston Butt roast), about 6 - 8 lbs, dump a whole bottle of sauce over it, then cook it in a slow cooker on low for eight hours. It's most commonly made with barbecue sauce, but you could use any kind of sauce you want. You could even make your own. For this particular one, I used Lowry's chop and steak marinade. It was really good! Once the pork is cooked, remove the bones with some tongs. Then, using the same tongs, rip apart the roast and kind of stir it at the same time so that it's eventually shredded. You could also do this with a pair of forks if you like it finely shredded (like us!).

Split Pea Soup

This is the last of my Easter left-overs recipes. My grandpa grew up on a pig farm and his favorite meal was split pea soup with ham. I think he would have really liked this one. It's simple but it makes great use of the left-overs from a ham dinner.

Split Pea Soup
Makes: 6 servings

6 cups water
1 ham hock (or bone left-over from a ham dinner)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, 1/2" dice
1 lb split peas
1 cup ham, finely diced
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1 - 2 tsp chicken bouillon

• Make the ham broth by covering the ham bone with the six cups of water. On high heat, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for one hour.
• Remove the ham bone from the broth. Set the broth aside.
• In the bottom of a large soup pot, saute the onion in the olive oil over medium heat until soft, about five minutes.
• Add the six cups of ham broth, split peas, ham, and black pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the peas are tender, about one to one and a half hours.
• If the soup seems too thick, add some water.
• Test the soup, if it tastes a little bland, add some chicken bouillon, one teaspoon at a time.
• Serve with a piece of crusty bread.

Collard Greens

Hi, Frank!

Collard greens are definitely a Southern staple. I had heard of them before we moved here, but only because we feed them to our iguana, Frank. So it took me a while to think of them as people food and not just iguana food. But I've definitely gotten over that mental block by now and I love collard greens! They are so yummy.

Collard Greens
Makes: 6 servings

2 cups water
1 ham hock (or leftover ham bone from a ham dinner)
1 large head of collard greens
1/2 cup finely chopped ham
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
malt vinegar

• Tear all of the collard leaves apart and thoroughly wash each of them individually. This will take some time and effort but it's necessary because collards tend to have a lot of dirt on them, even when they're pre-washed.
• Once the collards are clean, cut the stem out of the center of each leaf and then chop it up into large 2" x 2" pieces. Set aside.
• Place the ham hock or ham bone in the water. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer. Continue simmering for one hour.
• Remove the ham bone and set the broth aside.
• In a large soup pot over medium low heat, saute the garlic in the olive oil.
• Once the garlic is cooked, add the ham broth to the pan along with the chopped ham. Bring the broth to a boil.
• Add the collard greens in batches until you can get all of it in the pan. Toss the collards with a pair of tongs until all of it is coated with the ham broth.
• Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and continue to cook for 30 minutes until the collard greens are soft.
• Serve the collard greens with a splash of malt vinegar.

Surprisingly, these freeze really well. So if you're a family of three (like us!) then you can serve half and freeze the other half for later!

Crispy Pork Chops

If you haven't noticed from my posts, we mostly eat chicken. Matt can't really eat steak because of his braces - poor guy, only 6 more months to go! So tonight I decided to change it up with some pork chops. I shallow fried them with crunchy panko bread crumbs. Something to note about shallow frying, you really shouldn't ever use a non-stick pan for deep frying or shallow frying. Non-stick pans are made for cooking in medium to low heat. The extremely high temperatures achieved by frying with hot oil can cause the non-stick coating to warp and flake off. So make sure you're using stainless steel for this recipe.

Crispy Pork Chops

Makes: 4 pork chops

4 thin boneless center cut pork chops

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 seasoned salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 cup flour

1 egg

1 tbsp milk

canola or vegetable oil for frying

• Combine the panko, seasoned salt, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
• Whip together the egg and milk, set aside.
• With a meat tenderizer, pound the pork chops flat. This will help them cook more evenly and quickly.
• Dredge the pork chops in the flour, then the egg wash, then the panko mixture. Set aside while the oil is heating up.
• Fill a heavy bottomed stainless steel frying pan, heat about 1/2" of oil over medium heat.
• Once the oil is very hot, place the pork chops in the pan. If you're using a medium pan, you may need to do this in batches of two at a time. You don't want to overcrowd the pan.
• Cook the pork chops for about 3 - 4 minutes per side until they are brown and crispy and fully cooked on the inside. Allow to rest for two minutes before serving.
• I served mine on a bed of collard greens. Yum!

Apple Sage Pork Chops

Cold weather calls for comfort food. Apple sage pork chops are really great comfort food without being too terribly indulgent. This is also a quick weeknight meal to add to your repertoire, especially if you've been stuck in a rut lately. So, if your family is begging you to make anything but spaghetti, give this one a try!

Apple Sage Pork Chops
5 boneless center cut pork chops
2 tsp rubbed sage
2 apples (I used fuji but you could also use golden delicious, granny smith, or any other good baking apple)
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt & pepper (to taste)

• Peel, core, and slice the apples. Toss with 1 tsp of sage.
• Trim any excess fat off the pork chops. Sprinkle the remaining sage, salt, and pepper on both sides of each pork chop. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 425° F.
• Heat an oven proof skillet over medium high heat. Once the pan is extremely hot, add 1 tbsp of olive oil then add the pork chops to the pan. Sear for about 1 - 2 minutes on each side until they are brown. The pork chops will still be raw in the middle.
• Remove the pork chops from the pan and set aside.
• Add the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil to the pan. Add the apples and toss until the apples begin to soften.
• Remove the pan from the heat. Place the pork chops on top of the apples, then place the entire thing in the oven to finish cooking.
• Bake for 10 minutes until the juices are clear and the pork chops are no longer pink in the center.
• Remove the pan from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

You can serve this with roasted potatoes, rice, couscous, quinoa, or even a nice crusty bread.